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Chess In the Media: Chess Stories Across the USA and Around the World
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National News1500+ Chess Enthusiasts Expected in MilwaukeeFor the first time in its history, the U. S. Chess Federation (USCF) will hold their annual National High School Chess Championship in Wisconsin! The event is April 21-23, 2006 at Milwaukee’s Midwest Airlines Center, corner of 4th and Wisconsin. So far, 1346 chess enthusiasts representing 35 states (including 285 from Wisconsin!) have entered the 38th annual event. We expect to exceed 1500 competitors! The opening ceremony featuring the Green Lake High School band begins at 12:30 pm Friday, April 21 with the tournament beginning at 1:00 pm. On Thursday, April 20th, the National High School Bughouse Championship will be played starting at 11 am then at 5pm the National High School Blitz Championship will start. These two events are unique in that each side receives 5 minutes per game! On Saturday, April 22, another interesting event will begin at 10:30 am – Parents & Friends Tournament. This enables onlookers to join in the chess fun and yes, win prizes! Not only does the National High School Championship draw chess competitors but it attracts celebrities as well. On Saturday at 12:30 pm in Room 103D, you can – “Meet Joe Block, the “Chess Guy” from the television show, “Beauty and the Geek©.” After Joe shares some of this television experiences he will take on some chess challengers by playing a few Blitz games. MyChessPhotos.com, official photographer for this event, is offering a $250 scholarship to the player with the greatest upset! The weekend wraps up with a grand award’s ceremony at 7 pm Sunday, April 23. Additional details and advanced entrants can be viewed at: http://www.uschess.org/tournaments/2006/hs/. Additional local information may be obtained from Arlen Walker, Milwaukee Chess Foundation President at 414-358-3052. 2006 National High School Chess Championship Attracts Celebrity – “Chess Guy” from “Beauty and the Geek”“Beauty and the Geek”© TV celebrity, Joe Block, is scheduled to appear at the National High School Championship tournament in Milwaukee on Saturday, April 22. The U.S. Chess Federation (USCF) will be holding their 38th annual National High School Chess Championship at Milwaukee’s Midwest Airlines Center, corner of 4th and Wisconsin, from April 21 to 23, and expect over 1300 young chess enthusiasts to compete for national titles. Joe Block, a life-long chess player, and a recent finalist on the reality TV show “Beauty and the Geek,”© is a 24-year-old graduate student in mechanical engineering at Northwestern University in Chicago. The show, aired earlier this spring on WB Network, dubbed him “Speed Chess Champion.” Joe says that is inaccurate; he just loves to play blitz chess. Be sure to read the column about Joe on page 7 in the April edition of “Chess Life.” Joe was Chess Club president at the University of Chicago in 2001-2002. He was on the UC chess team when they placed/won in the Amateur Championship and Pan-American Championship. In the past, he has won money for placing at the Chicago Open in the U1400. He spends a lot of time playing chess in the pavilion at the North Avenue Beach in Chicago. But, as Joe admits, people just jog or rollerblade by, and don’t even seem to know that chess exists. Like most chess players, Joe is multi-dimensional. He’s the drummer in the “melodic rock” band “Gnome Attic,” which is playing in the Milwaukee area the weekend of the tournament. Joe will give a talk on Saturday, April 22 at 12:30 in Room 202C on his experiences on the show and what he learned from the “beauty” who was his partner. He’ll also be available to play blitz chess in the bookstore for anyone up to the challenge. With a respectable USCF rating of 1590, Joe often beats higher rated players at blitz. New - Online Tournament Life Announcement (TLA) AreaThe USCF is pleased to announce a new service to members and affiliates, one that we hope will increase attendance at chess tournaments throughout the USA: a new online Tournament Life Announcement (TLA) area. Chess players will be able to search for chess tournaments based on the month in which the tournament begins and the state where the tournament will be held. The listings can be further restricted by the distance in miles from the member's home to the tournament, based on ZIP codes. Players can also search for specific types of events, such the amount of cash prizes offered, whether the tournament is open or restricted by rating or by age, what rating systems the event will be rated under (including FIDE rated events), and even the maximum entry fee. For each event matching the search request, players will be able to bring up an online flyer describing the event in full detail, including an entry form that can be printed and filled out, then mailed to the organizer. The New Online TLA Area. Affiliates can enter TLAs for their upcoming events up to a year in advance using the online TLA form available to affiliates in the USCF's TD/Affiliate Support Area. USCF Seeks Endorsements, Sponsorships and Strategic PartnershipsIf you have chess related products or services, please contact us with your proposal. The USCF is seeking endorsements, sponsorships and strategic partnerships from the chess community. Over the next few weeks please email, Joan DuBois, at the USCF office in Crossville, TN. Americans Go For The Gold - Please Help!A message from USCF President Bill Goichberg. The 37th World Chess Olympiad will be held May 20-June 4 in Turin, Italy, and the United States may field its strongest team ever! At the previous Olympiad (Calvia 2004), our team narrowly missed a medal, finishing fourth, and we could be much better this year. In 2004 we had only one player with a FIDE rating over 2620; this year three Americans with FIDE ratings of at least 2650 have qualified. Among those eligible are the following top GMs: Hikaru Nakamura: The world's highest rated player age 18 or below as of 4/1/06, winner of the 2005 US Championship and many other strong tournaments, probably America's most serious threat to win the World Championship since Fischer. Not on the team in 2004; would be a spectacular addition! Gata Kamsky: Once rated 2790 by USCF, and strong enough to qualify to play a match against Karpov for the FIDE World Championship in 1996. He was then inactive for eight years, and upon his return in 2004 did not seem the same player, as his rating dropped to a low of 2684 in January 2005. Since then, however, his old strength has returned; he has gained rating points in almost every tournament, and is now up to 2737 USCF after tying for first in Group B at the US Championship. Not on the team in 2004; could be another sensational pickup! Alex Onischuk: Recently won the 2006 US Championship, undefeated, with a USCF performance rating over 2800! In 2004 he played first board for our Olympiad team and had a FIDE 2700 performance, against super tough opposition. Ildar Ibragimov: One good result after another, and he has gained 125 USCF rating points in the past two years to move his USCF rating solidly over 2700, and his FIDE up to 2637. Silver medal winner with 4.5 out of 6 at the 2005 World Team, recently tied for first in the Western States Open and National Chess Congress, tied for second behind Nakamura in the North American Open, tied for second behind Onischuk in Group A, US Championship. Not on the team in 2004 and another great addition! Gregory Kaidanov: Long one of the top rated players in the US, he won the silver medal for Board 4 at the 2004 Olympiad with a score of 8-2, a FIDE performance rating of 2760! USCF is also sending a team to the Women's Olympiad, where we won the silver medal in 2004. Unfortunately, Susan Polgar, who had a great result on first board last time, is not playing, but our other top players are young and improving and we still expect to do well. Those eligible include US Women's Champion Anna Zatonskih, Irina Krush, and Rusudan Goletiani. Unfortunately, it is expensive to send ten players and two captains overseas- about $60,000 to $70,000, depending on how much the players are paid. We appreciate the help of our official sponsor, the Kasparov Chess Foundation ($30,000) and our supporting sponsor, the Internet Chess Club ($5000), but without more donations, USCF will be over budget and the players cannot be paid what they deserve. It would be a shame to send less than our best team, or to provide our brightest stars with inadequate support, so I appeal to all members to please contribute whatever you can afford. Donations are tax deductible if made payable to the US Chess Trust; write "Olympiad" on your check and send to Olympiad Appeal, c/o USCF, PO Box 3967, Crossville TN 38557. Thanks for your help! |
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